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21 "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." 23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles. ~ Acts 1:21-26
Today, we conclude our study of Acts 1 where the Lord has raised up the Apostle Peter to lead those who had become followers of the Lord Jesus. Peter stood before them as a man of strength because he had come to the end of himself. He had come to the place where he understood that when we are weak God is strong. This is the message of the gospel. The Good News means we can stop lying to ourselves. The Good News means God's amazing grace is saving us to a life full of the truth.
In v.21-22 of today's passage we read, "21 Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."
Again, Peter was speaking to about 120 followers of the Lord Jesus at the courts of the Temple in Jerusalem. His goal was to get the group to vote on the person who would replace Judas as an Apostle. In the verses preceding today's passage Peter said, "The Scriptures must be fulfilled." With the departure of the Lord Jesus Bible study among the eleven disciples took a serious turn for the better. As they studied the Scriptures they realized there must be 12 apostles due to the fact that in the Old Testament they were told in Psalm 109:8 that "someone else will take his (Judas') place." This is what motivated Peter to do what he did in today's passage.
Peter highlighted only two qualifications for the one who would be the twelfth apostle: He had to be one who was there from the very beginning, from the baptism of John, and he had to have accompanied the Lord Jesus all through his ministry. There were many more than twelve disciples who followed the Lord Jesus. He chose twelve of them to be in a special relationship with Him, but there were others also who accompanied Him. Out of that larger band there must be one chosen who had been there the whole time and saw everything the Lord did. Also, this man had to have witnessed the Lord's appearances after the resurrection. He had to give witness to the authenticity of the resurrection.
In v.23-26 of today's passage we read, "23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, 'You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.' 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles."
Now, the choosing of this man took place in an interesting way. The only two men who had been there the whole time and had also seen the Lord Jesus after His resurrection were considered. The others had to decide between the two of them, and they did it in the Old Testament way: They cast lots for them. It was very much like flipping a coin. They may have literally used a coin, and flipped for heads or tails. It came up heads, and Matthias won. They called it casting lots, though we might call it flipping a coin. Their actions that day reveals to us that they believed God is involved even in the smallest things.
The Lord Jesus made a promise in Matthew 19. He said, "When the son of man comes in glory, you who have followed me will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel." Peter undoubtedly remembered the Lord Jesus saying those words, so, he saw the need to replace Judas with Matthias. Here were two men equally qualified, so the group chose them by the casting of lots. The lot fell on Matthias and he became the twelfth apostle. By the way, Matthias means "gift of Yahweh." This process gives us an example of how the Spirit of God operates among us. The key for us is that we trust the Lord to reveal to us His will which will always be consistent with the teachings in His Word. Interestingly, Matthias is not mentioned again in the Bible beyond today's passage.
Everyone wants to know the will of God for their lives. God reveals His will to us through His Word and the leading of His Spirit. He has been known to reveal His will to us through circumstances, as well. To be sure, God’s will for everyone is that we obey His Word. This was His will from the beginning that we be defined by Him. And, we know that we are being defined by God when we obey Him.
Throughout the Scriptures the Lord tells us what to do and what not to do. He tells us how to live. As we respond to the light He gives us we can expect Him to give us more light. Having said that though, there will always be a measure of uncertainty in it all. Uncertainty creates space for our faith to be developed. If we are ignorant of God’s Word, we will always be ignorant of God’s will. I really like what Jim Elliot once said, "God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with him."
